Local historian Paula Becker, who is writing a biography of Betty MacDonald, one of this region’s best-loved authors, discovered Betty’s earliest known published work, “Their Families,” which created the opportunity for the Book Club of Washington to reissue that previously unknown work as its first chapbook. To celebrate the publication of the chapbook, Paula is preparing a special talk for us which you don’t want to miss!

Paula will be discussing Betty’s early work and the impact of World War II paper restrictions on early editions of her 1945 classic, The Egg and I. She writes: “I plan to discuss ‘Their Families’ in its 1930s context and then turn to specifics about physical copies of The Egg And I — aspects of Betty’s story that I unearthed during my research for the book but which are for the most part too specialized to have made it into the manuscript. I plan on bringing some rare show and tells.”

Paula’s list of credits is extensive, as evidenced in this brief bio:

Paula Becker is the award-winning author of the books The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy and Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: Washington’s First World’s Fair, both co-written with Alan J. Stein. An expert on the history of world’s fairs, she is featured in the documentary films When Seattle Invented The Future: The 1962 World’s Fair, which aired on PBS stations nationwide; and Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: Washington’s Forgotten World’s Fair, which aired on Seattle’s KCTS-9; and Structural Engineers of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, which she narrated.

Paula Becker has written for HistoryLink.org since 2001, and is a staff historian. Her 300+ essays on the site document all aspects of Washington state history. Her next book, Looking For Betty MacDonald: The Egg, The Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and I, is scheduled for publication in fall 2016 by University of Washington Press.

Hospitality. Light refreshments will be available. There is no charge for the event, but we will have a container present to collect small donations to help us cover the cost of food and drink.

Location and Parking. Dearborn House is between Seneca and Spring Streets on Minor Avenue, which is parallel to, and one block east of, Boren Avenue. There appears to be limited parking on site, but nearly all of those spaces are reserved, so please allow sufficient time to find street parking, which can be challenging. Approximately two blocks east of Dearborn House there is a pay lot adjacent to the Seattle First Baptist Church (1111 Harvard Avenue).